All this worries Washington for reasons that transcend its treaty obligations to Japan. Peace in Northeast Asia is essential to the current “rebalancing” of U.S. foreign policy, or the tilt toward Asia. But the dispute interferes. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Beijing against doing anything rash to upset the status quo, only to be criticized sharply for meddling in China’s “internal” matters. Quietly, Washington has urged both sides to seek a diplomatic truce, such as by urging Tokyo to forget about putting government workers on the islands. Any kind of military confrontation, the U.S. counsels, would be disastrous for all concerned.

Something may be succeeding. Both Xi and Abe have restated recently that strong and friendly relations are essential, and they might even talk it over directly before long. It’s not likely the two countries can agree soon on any scheme to divide whatever wealth may lie beneath the sea—or let either side start drilling without interference—but they might decide to shove the whole matter far into the future. Otherwise, the risk of unwanted confrontation and unintended consequences will persist. Delay could allow both nations to give more sustained attention to their own domestic problems.

Robert Keatley is a former editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal and the South China Morning Post, both of Hong Kong.

Image: National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan).